Animal I Have Become
by DinosXGoXRawr
Summary: Sequel to "The Monster Within." Remus is getting ready for his new job at Hogwarts, while Tonks is preparing for her wedding. But Remus's life has just taken a downfall now that his old friend Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban. ON HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to post, but my computer has literally been freezing up like crazy and gobbling up all my fanfictions. I finally got this written. This chapter isn't really anything special, but I guess it'll do. Leave a review. Thanks. (:**

The summer passed rather quickly. Remus spent most of his time creating lesson plans for his new teaching job at Hogwarts, but sometimes he would get lost in his thoughts and not be able to concentrate. Sometimes he thought about Tonks, who was getting married sometime in December to that stupid prat Alfred. Occasionally, he thought about Harry Potter, the son of two of his best friends, who he would be able to meet in just a short couple of months. He wondered what he would say to the boy, whether or not he should introduce himself as Remus Lupin, a friend of Lily and James Potter, or if he should just let him believe that he was nothing but another DADA professor.

In late July, Remus received an urgent copy of the _Daily Prophet _from Kingsley. Remus took it carefully, wondering what Kingsley could possibly be so worked up about, but as soon as he flipped it over to the front page, he knew. There, staring right back up at him, was the face of an old friend. It was the face of a traitor, a murderer, a prisoner. Sirius Black.

"How did he escape?" Remus asked bitterly as he stared at the moving picture of Sirius holding his prison number and laughing maniacally. "No one helped him, did they?"

Kingsley shrugged. "No one has any idea how the man got out. Did you read the article?"

Remus glanced down at the tiny print on the creased white page, and he threw it onto the coffee table in disgust. He didn't want to read the article. He thought that he was done with all of his old friends from Hogwarts. James, Lily, and Peter were dead, and it was all Sirius's fault. He hated Sirius with a burning passion, and while contemplating the escape from Azkaban, Remus realized that if he were the one to find Sirius, he would kill him. Then maybe, just maybe, he would feel a little more at ease with his life.

"It says he's been saying some nonsense about someone being at Hogwarts," Kingsley said, breaking Remus from his murderous thoughts. "I wonder what that could mean."

Remus didn't really care what it meant. It had absolutely no effect on him. He tried to continue working on his lesson plans, but now that Kingsley was there and the news had reached him, he knew that he wouldn't be able to concentrate. He threw the paper to the coffee table in disgust and groaned loudly, trying to think of a way that he could possibly kill his former best friend.

And then an idea hit him. Someone was at Hogwarts. Sirius had been talking about how someone was at Hogwarts, and no one had any idea what he could be talking about. Remus had a feeling that he knew exactly what Sirius was talking about, and that person that Sirius wanted at Hogwarts was Harry Potter. He wanted to finish off the Potter family once and for all.

"Harry Potter's at Hogwarts," he pointed out to Kingsley after a few minutes of silence. "You don't think that could be who he's after?"

Kingsley thought it over for a second, but he didn't say anything much about it. They couldn't jump to conclusions so quickly. "I just wish we had some idea how we could catch him. There are posters of him all over the place, in the wizarding world and in the Muggle world. He's a dangerous guy. Maybe we'll catch him in the next month. Otherwise, he'll probably be heading for Hogwarts." He stood in silence for a few more seconds before turning on his heel and walking out of the apartment. He was part of a squad that was searching for Sirius Black, and he wouldn't be at home much for a long time.

With Kingsley gone, Remus was left to stare at the front page of the newspaper lying out before him. He couldn't believe that Sirius had escaped from Azkaban. It was impossible. Everyone that was sent to Azkaban always ended up going crazy. But Sirius was sane enough to break out of the jail by himself, so that must mean that he was still just as dangerous as he was before. He honestly thought that when they were in school, Sirius was the only good member of the Black family. But Sirius had deceived them all.

Deciding that those lesson plans were never going to get done now, Remus got up from the couch and grabbed his wand from the kitchen counter. He would take a walk to clear his mind, although there was no point in it. All he could think about now was Sirius Black and how much he hated the man.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw Tonks standing in the hallway, her hand raised as if about to knock on the door and a look of panic clearly written on her face. She was clutching a newspaper in her other hand, which was still adorned with that big diamond engagement ring. He sighed. There was another thing that he had to worry about now.

"Remus, have you seen the newspaper?" she asked breathlessly, thrusting the paper into his hands and letting out a noise that sounded like a frightened child. "I can't believe he broke out! How can he do that? I thought that Azkaban was heavily guarded-"

"Aren't you supposed to be at Auror training?" Remus interrupted her, handing the paper back to her. He didn't want to talk to her right now. He didn't want to talk to anyone.

"Well, yeah," Tonks answered, not looking so panicked anymore. "But Mad-Eye is out searching for Sirius Black with a bunch of other Aurors, and he said that it was much too dangerous for us to go with him. So he let us go for the day. But we have to practice some spells for homework because he didn't want it to be a wasted day." She paused to take a breath, and then she continued. "I just can't believe that he broke out of prison! I don't understand how he did it. And how has no one found him? He couldn't have gotten far in one day, right? Someone must have spotted him."

"Go home and practice your spells, Tonks," Remus said, shutting the door and walking into the hallway with her. He locked it behind him and walked around her, pretending like she wasn't even there. Not only did he not want to discuss the escape from Azkaban, but he also didn't want to discuss her marriage plans, which he knew would be the next topic in their conversation.

"If you're teaching at Hogwarts, do you think you'll still be able to attend my wedding?" Tonks asked as she trotted beside him, still clutching the newspaper tightly in her hands. Remus knew how she functioned all too well. Every conversation that he had had with her all summer had been about the stupid wedding that shouldn't happen.

"I don't know," he lied. He knew that if he wanted to, he could attend the wedding. Dumbledore wouldn't have a problem with it. But he didn't want to attend the wedding at all, much less talk about it. It wasn't out of jealousy; it was simply the fact that he was concerned about Tonks. He didn't want her marrying into a family that she clearly didn't belong in. Alfred and his family had given her grief for the past year or more, and now they were all a sudden lovable? He didn't understand it.

"Do you think you could come with me to pick out some decorations one day?" she asked, as if she didn't know that the subject was bothering him. She knew that he hated talking about the wedding, and that's why she did it. She wanted to push him to his breaking point. If only he would just admit how he truly felt, then she could break it off with Alfred and be happy for once. But it didn't look like Remus was anywhere close to telling her how he truly felt, so she would just have to settle with second best until he was ready. She knew in her heart that Remus was hiding feelings.

"I could, I suppose," Remus replied, not wanting to be mean to her. He would probably end up not going anywhere with her to do anything. He couldn't stand talking to her right now, and he wished that she would just disappear.

"We're having it in the foyer of his house," Tonks said. "It's a huge room, and it'll hold a lot of people. It's beautiful, really. I couldn't imagine a better place to have a wedding." They were walking down the stairs now, and she wasn't paying attention to where her feet were going. She tripped over her own feet and gasped as she started to fall down, but Remus grabbed her arm just in time to hoist her back up.

"Watch where you're going," he said before continuing down the stairs without her. She followed after him, slowly this time to make sure that she didn't fall again.

As soon as Remus reached the bottom of the stairs, he pushed open the door and left the apartment building, not even holding the door open for Tonks. She face planted on the closing door and then shoved it open, following quickly after him now.

"There you are!" Remus looked over at the bench beside the building and groaned. Alfred had gotten up and was now heading their way. "I was wondering how much longer you would be. Remember, Mother wants us to meet her at that nice bridal shop to look at flowers to decorate with." He glanced at Remus before taking Tonks's hand in his and pulling her closer to him. "We must be off soon."

Tonks grimaced a little at the way her hand felt in his. It just didn't seem to fit. It made her almost sick to think that this was probably how it was going to be for the rest of her life. At least Alfred was acting halfway human now…she might be able to deal with him.

And then she looked at Remus cautiously. He was already staring directly at her, his brown eyes meeting her green ones, and she sighed. "You want to come with us?" she asked. She felt Alfred stiffen from beside her, but then he loosened up. "We could use someone else's opinion."

"Yes, we could," Alfred said, letting go of her hand suddenly and taking a couple of steps away from her. "That's why Mother hired a wedding planner. She's the best in the wizarding world. You'll love her. Now, come on. We mustn't be late for our meeting." He threw his arm around her shoulder and pulled her forward as he began to walk away from the apartment building.

Tonks looked behind her at Remus and smiled a little as she waved a goodbye to him. Remus waved goodbye as well, and then Tonks frowned and turned back around. Alfred then cast a look behind him, and his eyes landed upon Remus. He mouthed something to him as he waved, something that looked a whole lot like, "Bye, wolf."

Remus's jaw locked as Alfred grinned and turned back around. How could Alfred possibly know anything about his state? He hadn't told anyone that could have told him anything. And then the thought hit him like a ton of bricks, and a dreadful pain shot through his chest. Tonks had told Alfred about him. That was the only way that he could possibly know anything.

Feeling angrier than ever before, Remus set off on his walk, his wand clutched a little too tightly in his hand. He heard the wand make a snapping noise, and he let out a low growl and stuffed it into his pants pocket. It seemed as if everything was going wrong all of a sudden. He was never going to be able to teach at Hogwarts.

And then another realization hit him. As soon as he reached Hogwarts, he would have to come face-to-face with his old enemy, Severus Snape. His old enemy would be making the potion that determined whether or not Remus would cause any harm to students or faculty. He didn't trust the man at all, but under Dumbledore's supervision, he might as well set their differences aside and act like the mature adult that he was. He couldn't hold a grudge about things that happened almost twenty years ago.

Remus's thoughts stopped racing after he walked past a couple who were talking in hushed tones on the sidewalk. He could have sworn that he heard them say something about Sirius Black, and he turned around to face them. They were still talking quietly, and he saw them holding out a copy of the newspaper. There was Sirius's face again, staring right back at him in mockery. It was as if he was challenging Remus to try to kill him. Remus could very easily take up that challenge.

When the couple looked up and saw him gazing at the front of the newspaper, the woman said, "I sure do hope they catch him soon. We're all in danger while he's on the loose."

Remus nodded and glanced down at the paper again. "They'll have him soon."

And they would, because Remus was going to be the one to find him and kill him.


	2. Chapter 2

**KatetheFanFictionist- Thanks! But I think I know what's going to happen at the wedding. Your idea is great, though. (: **

**So I'm not too impressed with this chapter. It seems kind of rushed to me, but I'll let you guys be the judge of that. I didn't use word-for-word conversations from the book or the movie, I just basically got the general idea of it. Also, I had to adjust something that Ron said because I forgot that Remus was at their house while Ron was home from school. So...sorry about that little mistake. I was trying to keep this sort of canon...**

**Anyway, leave a review. Thanks. (:**

Remus was still fuming by August 31st. He roamed the hallways of the Ministry to check up on any news that may lead to the capture of Sirius, his footsteps falling heavily on the tiled floor and his hands balled into fists. So far, he had talked to three different people in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and none of them seemed to know anything about Sirius's whereabouts. Deciding that he would just catch up on everything in the newspaper, he headed down the hallway where the future Aurors were being trained. He had to accomplish something before he went to Hogwarts for the year, and if he couldn't get Sirius's whereabouts, he would just go talk to Tonks about keeping her mouth shut. He was still incredibly angry that she had told Alfred about him. He thought that he could trust her.

He reached the door where the classroom was, and after just a second's hesitation, he pounded on the door fiercely and waited for someone to answer. An unfamiliar voice behind the door told him to enter, and he threw open the door a little too much and was greeted by a small, squirrely man whom he had never seen before.

"Yes?" the man said, raising a bushy gray eyebrow as he stared at Remus. "We're trying to have a lesson here."

Remus didn't care if he had just barged in rudely or if all of the students were gazing at him like he was a madman. He glanced at the man who was apparently filling in for Mad-Eye for a while, and then his eyes fixated on Tonks.

"I need to speak to one of your students, please," he said as calmly as he could.

"But we're having a lesson, and-"

"Tonks!" Remus exclaimed, gesturing for her to follow him out into the hallway. His voice was no longer steady. Tonks was almost shaking because she looked so scared, and Alfred was smirking from beside her. But Tonks walked forward and followed Remus into the hallway, cringing when he slammed the door behind them.

"Any particular reason you're acting like an ass today?" she asked when she had gathered up enough courage to fight back with him. "Oh, is it that time of the month again?"

Remus rolled his eyes. "No, actually, it's not. But I'm curious as to how Alfred could have possibly found out about my…time of the month. I trusted you, you know."

Tonks's face contorted into confusion, deep wrinkles forming on her forehead as her eyebrows knitted together and she bit her lip. "Alfred doesn't know anything about you."

Remus laughed, although it was mirthless. "Don't pretend like you didn't tell him anything. I know you did. Otherwise, he wouldn't know anything about it, would he?"

Tonks crossed her arms, and her face softened as she thought about the whole situation. "I didn't tell him anything. I didn't tell anyone. If he knows anything, then I don't know how he found out."

Remus sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he turned away from her. He had to get his anger under control. He had been in a bad mood ever since he had found out about Sirius's escape. He couldn't take his anger out on Tonks. He was an adult, and he was going to act like an adult. He turned back around to her, prepared to have a calm conversation.

"Am I supposed to just trust that you didn't tell him anything?" His voice was even again, although it held a threat that it could rise at any second.

Tonks shrugged and looked down at the floor as she began to nervously play with her hair. "I didn't. And that's all I can give you. I can't prove that I didn't. But I can give you my word, and that should be enough for you." Her green eyes had iced over, and any passerby could have been killed by the look that she was giving Remus. But he was used to seeing it.

"That's not enough," Remus replied simply without thinking through his words. "I don't know if you realize this, but Alfred was trying to kill me when I lived in Godric's Hollow. And now that he knows about me, how do I know that he isn't going to try to kill me again? It's a very serious issue, Tonks. And you're the only person I can think of that would tell him anything-"

"So you don't trust me then?" Tonks could practically feel her blood boiling, and she wanted more than anything to just go back to her lesson and forget that this whole conversation hadn't happened. Or, better yet, she wanted to pretend like she had never met Remus, or maybe that she had never met Alfred. She hated them both right now.

"How am I supposed to trust you?" Remus spat back at her. He was feeling just as much hatred as Tonks was now.

"Because that's what friends do. They trust each other. And if you don't trust me, then I guess we aren't friends." Tonks wasn't thinking as the words raced out of her mouth. "I'm fine with not being friends with you."

Remus was taken aback by the words. He had hoped that maybe, possibly, they could have worked this whole thing out, but it didn't look like anything was getting resolved. And then he felt the color rush to his face again, and he shrugged. "I'm fine with it too."

Tonks shrugged. "Fine."

"Fine."

They stared at each other for a few seconds more, and then Tonks turned on her heel and walked back into the classroom, slamming the door behind her. Tears were stinging at the edges of her eyes, but she quickly swiped them away and acted as if nothing had just happened.

Remus's face was hot with anger, and he balled his hands into fists again, trying to relieve some of the tension building up inside of him. He and Tonks were no longer friends. It was such a childish thing, it seemed, but it still upset him. Even though he hated to admit it, he actually enjoyed her company, and they had lots of fun when they were together. But that was over. He would just have to move on with his life now, it seemed.

….

Remus awoke the next morning at six o'clock, and, unable to go back to sleep, he got up and began to check that everything was packed and ready to go. Teachers typically didn't ride on the train with the students, but he had had a rough week, and he wasn't ready to leave. But now, he had no other choice, so he had to get on the Hogwarts Express and go back to his old school, even if he did still think it was the most dangerous thing in the world for him to do.

After an hour, Kingsley awoke and bid Remus farewell and good luck before heading off to work a little while later, and Remus was left completely alone with his thoughts in the apartment. He ate a small breakfast and wandered around the apartment for another two hours, and then he finally decided that he would head out. He couldn't Apparate to King's Cross, so he would have to make the trip on foot, which could take a while. He double-checked that he had everything, and when he saw that everything was in order, he left the apartment and headed for King's Cross.

On the way to King's Cross, Remus tried to think about something other than his escaped ex-best friend and his other ex-friend who he couldn't trust. He thought about seeing the Weasley children that he already knew and how his first lesson was going to go and what he was going to do when he met Harry Potter. He still wasn't sure if he should mention that he was friends with James and Lily, but he guessed that he would do whatever felt right in the moment.

He arrived at King's Cross much faster than he thought that he would, and he took in the surroundings that he hadn't seen in almost twenty years. There were Muggles and wizards everywhere, although it was hard to tell them apart because the wizards were dressed so casually. He peered around until he spotted platforms nine and ten, and a smile crept onto his face as he pushed past all of the people and made his way to the two platforms.

Within seconds, he was on the other side of the brick wall, and the only people around were wizards, mostly kids, along with a few parents. They all turned to look at him, and he smiled a little and waved, and then he boarded the sleek black train and found a compartment as close to the back as he possibly could. It was incredibly unusual for a teacher to be taking the train with the students, and he knew that none of them would sit with him because they didn't know him. He threw his bags into the rack above the compartment and lay down in one of the seats. For a few seconds, he peered out the window at the few people that were actually on the platform, and then he felt his eyes drooping dangerously. He hadn't gotten any rest the night before, and since he had half an hour before the train would be filled up, he let his eyelids fall. Within minutes, he was asleep.

…..

He dreamed of many different things, some that he didn't like invading his mind. The first image that popped up in his mind was Sirius, but he was still a teenager. James was there as well, along with Peter, and Remus even saw himself. They were laughing about something, and then teenage Severus Snape appeared, dangling in the air and screaming for help.

And then Lily appeared. She was yelling at them and telling them to leave Severus alone, and they all did as they were told reluctantly. She flipped her auburn hair over her shoulder and glared at them as she stalked off with Severus, and James had a look of confusion and shock on his face.

The next image was of Lily, James, and Sirius when they were out of Hogwarts. It was their wedding night, and Sirius was the best man. But the wedding didn't seem as happy as it truly was in reality. Sirius had a grim look on his face, a look that only madmen wore. Lily, James, and everyone else seemed oblivious to him, and Remus was the only one that knew. He called out to them, trying to tell them that Sirius was up to no good, but it was as no one was listening to him. And then Sirius transformed into a monstrous snake and lashed out at Lily and James, who fell to the ground and died instantly.

Remus was tossing and turning now, and he awoke immediately, sweat drenching his forehead and neck. He wiped it away and looked around the compartment. No one was there, thankfully, and he sighed and shifted to the other side of the seat. When he was comfortable, he fell back asleep.

He could have sworn he heard voices somewhere around him, a voice that sounded like one of the Weasleys and a voice that sounded dangerously like James Potter. But James Potter couldn't possibly be around. He was dead, and it was all Sirius Black's fault.

"Who is he?" James's voice asked.

"He stayed at our house for a while, but he was always in his room," another voice responded. "I never talked to him."

"Professor R.J. Lupin," a girl's voice said.

"She knows everything! How is it she knows everything?"

"It's on his suitcase, Ron."

Last time Remus checked, there was no one in the compartment with him. He had to be hearing voices. He squeezed his eyes tighter together and shifted again, and then everything in the compartment was silent. Yes, he was just hearing voices.

…..

What seemed like hours later, he felt a jolt that shook him awake again, and when he cracked his eyes, he saw that the train had stopped and the lights were out in the compartment. There were three other people in there with him, but he couldn't see who they were. One of them was pressed up against the train window, which was frosting over quickly for some reason.

"Did you hear that?" a boy asked, a boy that sounded like James. Remus wasn't hearing voices. He had heard the voice of Harry Potter.

"Hear what?" a girl questioned.

"Someone screamed."

"No one screamed, Harry."

The train seemed to be getting colder and colder by the second, and Remus shivered a little bit. And then, it wasn't just cold that hit him. It seemed as if nothing in the world was ever going to be happy again, like he was stuck in a black abyss and was never going to get out of it. That could only mean one thing: dementors.

Seconds passed, and those seconds turned into minutes. Remus wondered what could possibly be going on, and then the door to the compartment froze over as a long, scabby hand opened the door and reached in. The three kids made small, squeaky noises at the sight of the cloaked figure. The thing wasn't leaving after a few seconds passed, and Harry Potter was on the seat looking as if he was struggling for his life. Without another thought, Remus whipped his wand out and sent a silvery Patronus at the dementor, hitting it right in the chest and throwing it out of the compartment. It disappeared into the darkness of the hallway, and then the lights flickered back on and the train began to move again.

Ron and the girl that Remus didn't know were now staring at him curiously, and when he glanced over at Harry, he was passed out on the seat. Ron and the girl then looked at Harry, and the girl gasped in fright as she scooted over to his limp body and started to feel his cold, clammy face.

"Don't wake him," Remus said, and she looked up at him in confusion. "Let him rest. He'll be fine in just a little while."

The girl scooted away from Harry and glanced at Ron nervously before clearing her throat and speaking. "Are you our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?"

"Yes, I am," Remus replied. "Pity that you had to deal with Gilderoy Lockhart last year."

The girl shrugged and nodded as if she didn't quite want to believe that Lockhart was all that bad, and Ron laughed. "I couldn't stand that guy," he said.

They made small talk for what seemed like forever, and then Ron and the girl, who introduced herself as Hermione, got up and began to throw their robes on over their clothes. Harry stirred a little bit, and then his eyes slowly opened to reveal the green eyes of his mother. It was uncanny how much he looked like James, all except for the eyes. He had his mother's eyes.

"What happened?" Harry asked, rubbing his temples and sitting up. "There was someone screaming, and then I-"

"There was no one screaming, Harry," Hermione told him. "But I did feel really awful when that dementor came in here."

"What's a dementor?" Harry asked. He was starting to sweat again, and he wiped it away.

"The guards at Azkaban," Hermione answered. "They must still be searching for Sirius Black."

Harry nodded, and his green eyes fell upon Remus. Remus still hadn't planned on what he was going to say when he met Harry, but he supposed that he might as well help the boy since he looked like he was about to throw up. He dug through his bag until he found an unopened chocolate bar, and he ripped open the paper and handed a large chunk of it to Harry.

"Here," he said. "It'll make you feel better."

Harry took it, but he didn't seem to want to eat it. Remus gestured for him to eat, and Harry sighed and took a bite out of the chocolate. After a few minutes, color was restored in his face, and he looked a whole lot better than what he did when he first woke up.

"So you're our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, then?" he asked when all the chocolate was gone.

Yes, and I was one of your mother and father's best friends, he wanted to say. He wanted to tell Harry all the wonderful things he knew about his parents and ask him questions about everything that he had wondered about since the day Lily and James were killed. But instead, he merely nodded and got up to see how far the train was from Hogwarts. He would tell Harry everything all in good time, but for now, he would wait.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews. I wrote this chapter kind of quickly, but I hope you all still enjoy. Reviews are welcome. (:**

Remus walked into the school just a little before the students did, and he took in his surroundings with a smile. These hallways looked exactly the same as they did when he attended Hogwarts. In fact, everything seemed to be the same, except for the fact that he was no longer a student.

"Ah, Remus! There you are!" Dumbledore's strong voice rang out in the corridor, and Remus looked up at him. "I was wondering if you were even going to show up, but I should have known that I could count on you. Why don't you let Argus take your bags to your office, and you can come with me to the Great Hall."

Remus handed his bags over to Argus Filch, the caretaker, and Filch scowled at him before walking away and muttering something under his breath to his ominous cat Mrs. Norris. Dumbledore didn't seem to think that this behavior was strange, though, and he ushered Remus into the Great Hall where only the teachers' table was filled up so far.

All of the teachers smiled at Remus and welcomed them warmly, except for the one who was sitting on Dumbledore's immediate left. Severus Snape was glowering at Remus with his beady black eyes, and he didn't say anything to him at all. He didn't look pleased about the new teacher at all, but Remus wasn't too pleased about working closely with Snape either. He took a seat next to Snape and waved a little at him, but Snape didn't even glance in his direction.

"Welcome, students, to another exciting year at Hogwarts," Dumbledore said when all of the students had filed in and the first years were gathered at the front to be Sorted. "I would first like to introduce you all to our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Mr. Remus Lupin."

Remus stood up awkwardly to a round of applause and bowed to everyone. He glanced over at the Slytherin table and saw several smirking faces, including Draco Malfoy, and he was quickly reminded why he had despised Slytherins while he was in school. They were too proud of themselves.

Dinner went by unusually slowly, and Remus kept stealing glances in Snape's direction. Snape was always glaring out into the groups of students, never even looking twice at Remus. They didn't speak, and Remus didn't expect them to. They had completely hated each other while they were teenagers, and they hadn't spoken since they left school. The tension was still pretty strong.

When dinner was over, Remus quickly swept out of the room and headed toward his office inconspicuously, trying to avoid any people. When he reached the room, he opened the door and walked into a dark room, only lit by the moon outside. He searched around the room until he found a lamp on the edge of the desk, and he almost jumped out of his skin when he saw the person sitting on his desk.

"Remus, I think we need to talk," Tonks said with a dead serious look on her face.

"How did you…?" Remus trailed off as he looked at the open window and then at her, and then he just waved it off like it was nothing. "Never mind. What do you need? I kind of need to get my lesson plan ready for tomorrow."

Tonks sighed and got off the desk, and she began to pace the room. "So I know that you said that you didn't want to be friends with me, but I don't think that I can handle that. I mean, Remus, let's be honest. Do you have a closer friend than me?"

"Yes," Remus answered, almost insulted by the question. "I have Mad-Eye and Molly and Arthur and Kingsley and-"

Tonks groaned loudly and threw her hands in the air dramatically. "Remus, you're friends with them, yes, but you and I are…I mean…" She trailed off for a second, and she wandered into the corner of the room so that she wouldn't have to look at him. She bit her lip, debating on whether or not she should say anything else. Her random visit to Hogwarts was stupid, anyway. She should have stayed at home with Alfred. "You're the closest thing I have to a best friend. And if you weren't around, I…I don't know what I would do. I wouldn't have anyone to tell secrets to or…this is stupid. I should go home."

Remus smirked as she turned around to face him, and she frowned at him. "So we aren't friends for one day and you're already coming back to me, then?"

Tonks's eyebrows knitted together as she glared at him. "Well, someone sounds a little arrogant. That's not the Remus Lupin that I became friends with."

Remus chuckled a little and pushed her away playfully. "I know. I only do it to annoy you." And then he remembered why he was mad at her in the first place, and all of those angry feelings started to rush back. "I think you should leave now. You don't want to leave Alfred waiting for too long."

Tonks grimaced at the mention of her name, and she wished that she could only do something to make Remus believe that she had not told Alfred about him. And then she got an idea. "Veritaserum!" she exclaimed. "If you don't believe me, give me some Veritaserum. I swear that I didn't tell him anything. And I'll be saying the same thing after you give me the potion."

Remus was taken aback by the request. Most of the time, people didn't ask to be given Veritaserum, especially if they were lying. He looked into Tonks's green eyes, and they looked so innocent, like she didn't ever have a secret untold. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, thinking about what he should do, and then he asked, "How did he find out then?"

Tonks shrugged and looked genuinely pitiful. "I don't know. I didn't tell anyone, not even my owl, and I tell her everything. You should be proud of me." She crossed her arms and nodded vigorously.

Remus stared hard at her for a second, and then he started to laugh. She was too innocent to go around telling other people's secrets. "Alright, I'm sorry for accusing you. I jump to conclusions too easily. But if you can, can you please find out how he knows about it?"

Tonks smiled and nodded again. "Of course. He doesn't mind sharing secrets with me. He thinks I don't tell anyone." She paused to clear her throat, and she shuffled her feet awkwardly. "So…are we friends again?"

Remus smiled at her. "I suppose we could make it work. We've made it work all these other times we've fought."

Tonks was smiling so widely that she thought she was going to burst. She couldn't contain her enthusiasm any longer, and she squealed and leapt onto him, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him as tightly as possible. It only got awkward when the door opened and a low, drawling voice said, "Remus, I don't believe you're supposed to have visitors in your office after hours unless the Headmaster knows of the visit."

Remus frowned and pulled away from Tonks, who looked like she was going to explode from embarrassment. "Of course, Severus. But I think it's rather rude of you to enter my office without knocking."

Snape frowned right back at him, and he opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it. His beady black eyes were glaring a hole right through Remus, and then he pointed an accusatory finger at him. "Well, you're just…you're just mean. You need to be nice to me, or…or I'll tell Dumbledore."

"Ooh, I'm so scared," Remus said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "You're just a tattletale like you were back in school."

"You gave me a reason to be!"

"Don't bring your anger toward James and Sirius out on me! You know that Peter and I never really bothered you!" Before Remus could think, the words had flown out of his mouth. He felt a pang in his chest at the mention of his friends, and he gulped down the terrible feeling now rising in his throat. It wasn't entirely James and Sirius…

"You four almost got me killed!"

"Well, you wouldn't have been almost killed if you weren't trying to spy on us! You were _obsessed_, Severus."

Snape glared at him for a split second, and then he held out a beaker that was stopped up with a cork. "Here's your potion, though I don't know why I bother with helping you."

"Thank you, Severus," Remus said, taking the beaker away from him and setting it on his desk. "See, we're becoming friends already. Lighten up." His words had almost no meaning behind them. He still held a large grudge against the foul man that he would now be teaching alongside with at Hogwarts.

Snape scowled at him before turning on his heel and throwing out his cloak dramatically behind him.

"Bye, Severus!" Tonks called after him, waving vigorously and smiling widely. He turned around to glare at her. "See, I can call you that now because you're not my teacher."

"I wish I wouldn't have been your teacher," Snape grumbled under his breath as he opened the door and slammed it shut as he exited.

"What's going on with you guys?" Tonks asked after she was sure that Snape was gone. She cocked her head to the side in confusion and sat down on top of the desk again, swinging her legs absentmindedly and staring up at the ceiling.

"It's nothing, really," Remus replied, waving it off as if it was nothing, although he felt a little angry inside. "Don't worry about it. Look, I really need to start working on my lesson plan for tomorrow. I hope you don't mind. You can come back some other time. I might be free, though I feel as if this year is going to be incredibly busy."

"Better make room for my wedding," Tonks said, and she felt sick speaking the words. Her wedding. She always dreamed of marrying someone that would come and sweep her off her feet, make her feel like she was special. Much like how Remus made her feel. But she knew it was never going to happen, and Alfred seemed to be getting nicer now except for the whole wolf ordeal. She could put up with him…

"I'll make room for your wedding, Tonks," Remus said as he took a seat at his desk and began pulling out papers from his briefcase.

Tonks grinned at him and flipped her hair over her shoulder as she got up and headed for the open window. "Well, have fun. Write me sometime soon. Oh, and tell all my fellow Hufflepuffs hello."

Remus frowned. "No one even knows anyone in Hufflepuff."

"That's so rude. Why would you say that? Hufflepuff is cool."

"Whatever."

Tonks frowned as she grabbed her broomstick from the corner of the room. She had almost forgotten it. "Hey, Remus? Now that we're friends again, can I ask you something?"

"No."

"Okay, so I was just wondering if you could shave your mustache off. It's really, really irritating me."

Remus looked up at her, and then he got up from the desk and pointed out the window. "No. Now goodnight, Tonks. I'll write you when I have the time."

"Okay, bye," Tonks said happily as she climbed halfway out the window and positioned her broom.

"Wait, can I ask you a question?" Remus asked before she could leave.

"Yeah, go ahead."

"How did you get in with all of those dementors guarding the entrance?"

Tonks looked at him in confusion, and then she shrugged. "I'm not really sure. But I got in. I guess I'm just that good." She smirked at him in the arrogant way that he always did to her, and then she wiggled onto her broom and soared off into the night.


End file.
